Everlasting Love
by 70sfaithshumate
Summary: BJ's childhood friend Jemima is in trouble & its BJ's to the rescue, but this time will there be more romance than trouble? Note: this takes place after Take Me Home, Country Roads
1. A Friend In Need

**This one takes place after the my other story Take Me Home, Country Roads.**

**Disclaimer: I only own characters: Jemima, Baricza, and Jemima's family.**

**This takes place a few months after the series ended in June.**

* * *

><p>BJ looked over at Bear with a grin on his face as the little chimp chattered gleefully beside him. They were headed back to Bear Enterprises after a long journey delivering a load of chickens in the north country. He had just reached to turn the radio up when Stacy's voice came over the CB.<p>

"Milwaukee Kid, this is Control; what's your 20?"

"I'm 'bout an hour away from home." He replied over the chimp's chatters.

"10-4," she confirmed.

"Well, boy. We're almost home what do you think about that?" He asked the monkey ruffling the fur on the top of his head. Bear chattered in reply, nodding his head up and down. "I feel the same buddy." He told his friend, still tickling him unaware there was trouble up ahead for a certain young lady he knows.

Jemima sighed in exasperation as she pulled her groaning 18 wheeler over on the side of the road. "That didn't sound too awful good," she explained to the little chimp next to her. "Come on, Baricza, we better go check it out."

"Stay close, alright?" She told the chattering chimp, who had started to wander around the front of the truck. The minute Jemima lifted the cab's hood and steam started to roll out, she knew it was not something she was going to be able to fix on her own. "Great, just great!" She kicked the ground in frustration. She looked at Baricza who was starting back at her. "Wonder if BJ is anywhere around?" She decided to find out and swung up into the cab to call her Milwaukee Kid.

"Milwaukee Kid," she called into the CB, "what's your 20?"

He frowned, not recognizing the voice at first. "I'll tell you my 20 once I know who you are."

"Does the name, Snow Fox ring a bell?" She answered bringing a grin to his face.

"I'm about an hour out of L.A. Why?"

"My truck decided to kill out on me." She told him with a pout.

"Can't you fix it?" He asked with a teasing glint in his voice.

"Nope," Jemima retorted with a grin. "I'm not that good."

"Well, tell me where you are and I'll come get you."

She glanced around. "I'm about 10 miles out of L.A. on the back roads."

"I'll be there in about 30 minutes. Hang tight."

"10-4." Jemima answered.

"I love it when she talks like that." BJ grinned at his little buddy who was jumping up and down on the seat beside him as they were on their way to his Snow Fox. He ruffled the fur on Bear's head before reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out a ring that sparkled and shone rainbows on the truck's cab.

"What do you think Bear?" BJ asked him, smiling like a man in love. "Think she'll like that?" The little chimp nodded his head up and down , chattering cheerfully at his friend. BJ smiled back and put the ring back in his pocket just as heard Callie over the CB calling his name.

"Milwaukee Kid, this is California Sal. Come in." Callie requested on the radio.

"BJ, here what can I do for you Callie." He answered her, still grinning like a cat that ate the canary.

"I just delivered my load of tables. Now what?" She asked him, waiting for her next order.

BJ thought carefully, before he answered. He had his head in the clouds and was having trouble concentrating. Finally he responded. "Call Stacey to see if there is anything new. If not, then head on to Bear Enterprises." He waited to hear her reply in the affirmative before putting his CB back.

"Alright, Bear. Now let's go get Jem." He told the little imp beside him, reaching out to tickle him under the chin. He was a man on a mission and nothing was going to stand in his way.

They reached Jem about thirty minutes later, pulling behind her truck he tried to rein in his emotions, not wanting to give anything away just yet. BJ grabbed Bear and climbed down, immediately walking over to her to pull her in for a kiss.

"Hey, love." He told her in a gravelly voice as soon as they had parted. "What's the trouble?"

"Well the truck was stalling a little bit and then it was pulling and then it just stopped altogether."

She told him, wrapping her arm around his waist as they walked to the front of the truck together.

"Have you called the draggin' wagon?" He asked her, referring to a tow truck.

"Not yet." She replied honestly. "I was waiting for you to get here, so I'd have a ride. You know, just in case they got here before you did."

"Tell you what." He said, grabbing Bear's hand and walking toward his truck. "Why don't you go ahead and put your stuff in my rig and get in." He put Bear in the truck and turned back to give her a hand with her stuff and Baricza.

"Alright." She agreed swiftly, and started to walk back to her rig as she had followed BJ to his while he took care of bear.

"Wait." BJ commanded softly, grabbing Jem gently by the elbow.

"What?" She asked him, her brow wrinkling with confusion.

BJ smiled at her and replied with a wink. "Nothing, just glad to see you."

Jem smiled back at him and he let her go to collect her things. Remembering the business at hand, he climbed back into his cab to call the draggin' wagon.

Back at Jem's rig, she collected her denim jacket, duffle bag and guitar. Jumping down, she yelled for Baricza who jumped into her arms. She walked over to BJ's truck and let Baricza get in first so she'd have her hands free to stow her stuff in the side compartments. She had just finished getting settled, when she heard him thank the company.

"When will they be able to get it," she inquired?

"First thing tomorrow morning," he grimaced.

"Tomorrow?!" She exclaimed, questioningly.

"It sounded like they were up to their eyeballs in broken down trucks." He soothed.

"I'm supposed to be picking up some mirrors from the factory to get them down to Houston." She told him dejectedly.

"What time are you supposed to pick them up?" BJ asked.

"Tomorrow morning." She sighed.

"Now I see the problem." He said, rubbing her shoulder gently.

"Yeah, some problem. Right?" She was starting to get very frustrated.

"Yeah. How about you ride with me?" BJ was determined to help her out of this mess.

"I don't know ." She told him not wanting to impose. "What about you? Don't you have anything to pick up or deliver?"

"Not really." He replied shaking his head. "One of the girls can handle it. What do you say?"

"Okay." She perked up. "If you don't mind and only if it won't be any trouble to you." She told him firmly. She knew he had a business to run and a reputation to uphold.

"No trouble at all." He said grinning at her as he started up his rig. "I'd be glad to. Besides I can't think of anyone I'd rather ride with."

She smiled at him as if he'd handed her the world. "You're one of a kind, BJ McKay. One of a kind."

"Thanks." He told her grinning as they got underway to Bear Enterprises.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it took so long to upload my next story, I'll try to upload a chapter each month.<strong>

**Please let me know what you think.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	2. Arriving At Phil

They had arrived at home base and the little group had just gotten inside when Stacks greeted BJ hesitantly.

"BJ my uh-..." she trailed off, not knowing quite how to finish her sentence.

"Don't tell me, your truck is in the garage getting fixed. Right?" He finished for her.

"Yes." She replied, amazed. "How did you know?"

"Educated guess." He told her brushing his hair back with a sigh. Then he remembered who was at his side. "You guys remember Jem and Baricza right?"

"Yeah." Callie replied hotly. "Who could forget them? You talk about Jem enough. Besides we've seen them quite a bit." She replied, her head shaking exaggeratedly.

"What are you doing here, Jem?" Terri wanted to know.

"Truck broke down. BJ gave me a lift." She told the group, smiling at her rescuer.

"Lucky enough for you, you got a hold of BJ right?" Callie said, reading the look between the two.

"Yeah." Jem told her.

"How long do you plan to stick around?" Angie asked from a table.

"I leave first thing in the morning." Jem said.

"Shame you can't stick around for the next few days. Phil's holding a singing contest." Terri informed her. "And BJ is entered." Gerri said grinning.

"Really," Jem teased, drawing the word out and looking over at BJ with a grin. "Might have to come back in time to watch that."

BJ decided to change the subject." I guess we better get you over to the motel before it gets late."

"Yeah," Jem agreed, letting him off the hook for now. "Great to see you guys again." She told the girls.

"Come on you two," BJ told the chimps, as he put his arm around Jem's shoulders again as they prepared to leave. "Oh, don't forget dinner downstairs at Phil's tonight." He reminded his staff.

As they walked out the doors, Callie asked the girls quietly and grumpily, "Why is she always so happy?"

"She just is." Angie told her frankly.

"Well I think it's nice that she's always so happy all the time." Stacks softly told her the girls, coming to Jem's defense.

"It comes from her being a Christian and all." Samantha explained.

"Yeah I guess." Stacks agreed.

"She's just too happy all the time." Callie griped. "Even when things are going bad. Like just now, her truck's broken down and she's over there smiling her heart out." She finished crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well it's good that she's like that. Someone around here needs to be happy." Angie replied pointedly.

"Yeah, I guess." Callie conceded.

Meanwhile, BJ and Jem had arrived at the motel. Jem had gathered some of her stuff in her arms and was giving Baricza a piggyback ride as BJ carried Bear and the rest of her stuff into her room for her. As soon as the chimpanzees saw the bed, they got down from their friends' arms and proceeded to play around, jumping on the bed and generally having a good time.

"Thanks BJ." Jem said gratefully as she set her stuff down on the table by the door.

"Hey no problem." He said casually as he set the rest of her stuff down.

"Are you sure that we can get back in time for the singing contest?" She asked walking over to stand by the bed where the chimps had began grooming each other.

"Well, we'll certainly try." He said, walking closer to her and putting his hand on her cheek.

"Billie..." She warned him as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, pushing him firmly away. "I think it's time for you to leave." She said decisively.

"Why?" He asked her incredulously.

She put some distance between them before explaining. "I've got a lot of brothers who would like nothing more than to bust some guy up for being alone in a motel room with me."

"Yeah, they would." He agreed reluctantly. "I guess I'll see you over at Phil's for dinner."

"Alright, when?" She asked sitting on the bed. Baricza quickly climbed into her lap for a cuddle.

"30 minutes." He said glancing at the clock on the night table.

"I'll see you guys over there." Jem told him, as he headed to the door.

"Come on Bear." BJ walked back to kiss her on the forehead before scooping his chimp into his arms and walking out the door.

Jem got up to shut the door behind him. Turning back, she saw Baricza pulling clothes out of her bag. "Alright Baricza," she agreed. "Looks like we better start getting ready."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think.<strong>


	3. Dinner at Phil

**Here is the next chapter I'll try to post chapter 4 soon.**

* * *

><p>BJ was dressed smartly in a blue pullover sweater and jeans while his staff was dressed in a variety of colors that matched each personality perfectly. Walking over to Phil at the bar, he asked him quietly, "So is there any chance of adding Jemima to the performance?"<p>

"Can she sing?" Phil asked while wiping down the counter.

"I think she can." BJ told him sincerely.

"Well she can go on after you then."

"Alright, thanks that's great." BJ smiled, thinking of the chance at hearing his girl sing in a few days.

"Yeah." Phil said, waving him off as he finished getting a drink for another customer.

BJ heard a chimp at the door, and thinking it was Bear, decided to see what the commotion was. Instead his breath caught in his throat as Jem walked in wearing a blue calico dress with a denim jacket. She was beautiful and all of a sudden he was at a loss for words.

Jem noticed him staring and rushed over tugging at her jacket, feeling slightly self-conscious. "Is this ok?" she asked him nervously.

He finally found his voice. "Anything you would have worn would have been ok." He leaned his elbows casually on the counter trying to regain control of his emotions.

"Thanks." She told him shyly.

"Why don't we grab a table?" He asked her pointing to an out of the way table. They walked over and he pulled her chair out for her. His gentlemanly manners did not go unnoticed by his girls however and it wasn't too long before Callie came over.

"So Jem, where'd you get the calico dress?" She asked indignantly, putting her nose slightly in the air.

"My mom made it for me." She told her a little defensively.

"That's nice." Callie said sarcastically.

Angie tried to intervene and smooth things over. "So how's the repairs on your truck coming along?"

Jem looked at her gratefully before replying. "Well they can't get the truck until tomorrow morning."

"So how are you goin' to deliver your mirrors?" Stacks asked her softly, taking a chair at the next table.

"I'm driving her." BJ answered her, smiling at Jem.

"So where are you going?" Sam asked curiously, joining Stacks at the table.

"Houston, Texas." Jem replied after finishing a drink of her coke.

"That's a nice distance to go." Sam replied.

"Yep. Over 23 hours." Jem replied. She looked down at her plate, wanting to dig in, but not wanting to answer questions with her mouth full either. BJ noticed her gaze and asked the girls to let them finish their dinner in peace without having everyone looking over their shoulders. The girls departed embarrassedly, all but Callie who took her sweet time before she moseyed over to ask Phil for a drink.

Later, BJ walked Jem back to the motel, but this time he didn't go inside with her. He grabbed her hand after she unlocked the door and she turned to look at him questioningly.

"I just thought I'd say that I think you looked very beautiful." He told her, gazing into her eyes.

"Why, thank you." She replied graciously with a smile.

"No problem." He said smiling back at her. "I'll be over here early in the morning so be ready."

"How early are we talking?" Jem asked, cocking her eyebrow at him.

"Whenever I get here." He said, dropping a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Goodnight." He watched her go into the room and made sure he heard the door lock before continuing on to his own bed.

He was sleeping so soundly he never heard Grant and Steiger plant moonshine jugs in the lower part of the sleeper in his truck right outside.

"Well, Steiger, this time we will nail BJ McKay," he rasped, chuckling menacingly.

"And we can close down Bear Enterprises," Jim Steiger added.

"Turn off that CB radio just in case." Grant ordered his lieutenant as they climbed back in the car and headed back to the station.

* * *

><p><strong>Please let me know what you think.<strong>

**Thanks for reading.**


	4. Rise and Shine

**For those that do not already know BJ & Jemima are the same age since this takes place shortly after the last season started that would make them about 26.**

* * *

><p>The next morning BJ knocked on Jem's door, dressed handsomely in a red button down western shirt, jeans, and boots. He was a little surprised when the door opened and it wasn't Jem standing there, but Baricza. "Where is she, Baricza?" He said, looking over her to peer inside the room. She grabbed his hand and walked him over to her friend. He walked over to her and smiled softly as she looked so peaceful sleeping there on her left side.<p>

"How do you like that fellas, she's still asleep." He said to the little chimps at his side. They chattered at him in agreement, jumping up and down and still Jem did not wake.

"Reckon I better wake her up." He said as he leaned over her to pull the covers off. Jem grabbed them in her sleep as the warmth started to dissipate.

"Come on, Baricza," she mumbled groggily, "let me get some sleep before BJ shows up."

"Come on Jem," BJ coaxed, "it's time to get up."

Jemima's eyes shot open as she turned to see BJ standing over her. Her hands immediately grabbed the covers to pull them over her modestly.

"Hi," she croaked sleepily. "What time is it?"

"About 5:25. You ready to go?" BJ teased.

"Give me a few minutes." She told him standing up, but stopping mid-stand when BJ started to smile and chuckle.

"Nice threads." He said, looking at her teasingly standing there in cutoff jean shorts and a black tank top.

"Ha ha, very funny." She retorted dryly.

"I thought it was," he said as he turned his back to her, waiting for her to get in the bathroom before turning back around.

"Is your bag packed?" He hollered at her in the bathroom.

"It will be in a few minutes." She yelled back to him. In short order, she was dressed in a crimson button down with a white tank top and jeans. She walked out of the bathroom and set her duffle bag on the bed. "Alright, I'm ready." She announced running her hand through her hair.

"About time. Well let's tear on out of here." He said, before reaching down to grab Jem's duffle bag as she picked up her guitar and Baricza jumped on her back for a piggyback ride. "I'll get that."

"So what day do you have to be back in time for the singing contest?" Jem asked him as they checked the motel room one last time to make sure she didn't miss anything.

"About a week." BJ replied, checking the nightstand. "It's on Friday."

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go." She told him as they had finished checking and now stood standing in the doorway.

"Oh, one more thing." BJ added as she locked the door.

"What?" She asked pausing to look up at him.

"I talked Phil into letting you sing either before or after me." He winked at her.

"Are you serious?" She asked, jaw dropping a little.

"Yeah, I wouldn't lie to you." He grinned. "Come on let's get to my rig." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders to guide her to the truck.

"Why did you get me signed up?" She replied smacking him softly on the shoulder.

He didn't reply, but laughed loudly as they got her things and everybody situated in the cab of the truck. It wasn't too much longer until they were on their way to the warehouse where they were supposed to pick up the mirrors.

Meanwhile, back at Bear Enterprises, things weren't looking too good as Captain Grant entered the trucking company's headquarters.

Stacy noticed him first and immediately decided to find out what the dirty cop was up to. "Can I help you, Captain Grant?"

"Alright! Where's McKay?" He shouted, ignoring her completely. "His truck's not outside."

"He's on a run out to Texas." Stacy replied.

"Yeah, what's he running?" Grant asked commandingly.

"He's helping Jem make a run." Stacks told him timidly.

"Who?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as Angie and Samantha walked into the office.

"Jemima Evigan." Angie supplied as she had heard the latter part of their conversation coming through the door.

"Yeah." He said, as he pulled out his tablet and wrote down the name. "What are they running?"

"Mirrors." Samantha told the captain defensively. "Why?"

"We received a tip that their truck was transporting illegal moonshine." He said as he looked around the office.

"Well it's obvious that they're not here." Callie told the officers firmly. "So I suggest that you just get out of here."

"Fine." Grant conceded. "But I will catch McKay."

"You forgot about Jem." Stacks called on their way to the door. Grant paused for a slight moment before pulling the door open angrily.

"What are we..." Terri began as soon as the door shut.

"Going to do." Gerri finished for her sister.

"We've got to get a hold of BJ." Angie answered them decisively.

"We're on it." Terri said as she and her sister hurried over to the CB.

"Alright, the rest of us need to get back to work." Callie said to the others while Terri and Gerri tried to raise the couple on the CB to no avail.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think.<strong>


	5. Loading the truck and male chauvinism

**The title says it all on this chapter. **

* * *

><p>Once Jem and BJ reached the warehouse where she was expected to pick up her load, she hopped down to explain her situation to the manager in charge while the rest of the guys and BJ helped load the truck. He was quite sympathetic to her situation and saw no problem with the way she had arranged to have another rig pick up her load as long as she was with it.<p>

"Sorry about your rig," he said, "but at least you get to make the delivery on time."

"You got that right," Jemima nodded agreeably.

"Alright, well looks like your rig should be ready to go within 20 minutes."

"Thanks." Jem replied gratefully, glad that she was finally picking up her load without any problems. She headed back outside to where the men were loading the truck and snagged BJ for a quick hug.

"Everything work out okay?" He asked her, motioning with his head to the door where she just exited from.

"Yep. Need any help?" She asked him.

"Not really," he replied as they watched the men grabbing some more boxes to load on the truck. "I think we're good."

"Are you sure?" She asked raising her eyebrows as she noticed the big stack they still had left to load.

"Yeah." BJ insisted adamantly.

"So what am I supposed to do?" She asked him.

"Sit there and look pretty." He teased her, thinking it was cute to see her start to get angry, the way she furrowed her brow and balled up her fists.

"BJ McKay! You are a male chauvinist." She exclaimed in outrage pushing him away from her and clenching her fists. She turned and climbed in the truck, slamming the door beside her. She was so mad, she never noticed BJ chuckling at her mild tantrum.

BJ turned as one of the warehouse workers came up to him to hand him the loading slip to sign. "What's with her?" He asked nodding to Jemima.

"Well, she's sort of a feminist." BJ answered him, still chuckling.

"So?" The worker was still confused. "A lot of ladies are these days."

"Well, she's just a little bit more stubborn from time to time." BJ replied, signing his name with a flourish.

"Yeah, my wife was like that before we got married." He said, taking the slip of paper from BJ. "Then she gave up on her feminist ways."

"That might have worked with your wife." BJ said, raking his hands through his hair. "But let me tell you one thing, that little lady will not back off on her ideals."

"She will one day." He said firmly. "Get her past marriage, a few kids, and she'll mellow out."

"I guess." BJ replied, stacking the last box in his truck." He thanked the men that had helped him and climbed in his truck. Glancing back to make sure the chimps were still with them, he started it up and headed back down the road. But after a few miles, the stony silence coming from the passenger seat started to wear on him and he figured he'd better patch things up mighty quick if he didn't want to spend the rest of the drive getting the silent treatment.

He took a deep breath, and spoke quietly. "I'm sorry Jem, if I offended you."

Jemima looked over at him, saw the sincerity in his eyes, and heard the regret in his voice. "That's alright." She said with a sigh. "My dad was always right, I am stubborn."

"I wouldn't say that." BJ said, with a shake of his head. "You just don't like it when guys tell you what to do."

"Yeah, that's being stubborn." Jem insisted. "It's a bad habit. My four older brothers, they always told me what to do. That might be where I got that stubborn streak from." BJ laughed. "I try not to be that way." She continued.

"I don't want you to change." BJ said, glancing over at her and then Bear and Baricza. "What do you guys think?" Bear and Baricza chattered and jumped up and down in the seat next to him. "See? It's unanimous." He told her smiling. Jemima smiled back and they both started to laugh.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.<strong>


	6. Jail Time

**I'd like to thank everyone that reads my stories and comments on them, especially DixieDavenport. I'll try to get another chapter up sometime this week, but there's no guarantee.**

* * *

><p>"Well, how about some breakfast?" BJ suggested glancing at the clock. It was almost ten o'clock in the morning and his stomach was starting to remind him that he hadn't eaten anything since he was at Phil's the night before.<p>

"Fine with me." Jem agreed. Her stomach was starting to rumble as well.

"Good, I'm starvin'." BJ told her.

"You would be." Jem replied, laughing with him. It wasn't too long before BJ pulled over at a diner a few miles down the road. The little troupe climbed out of the truck and made their way inside to a booth by the window so Bear and Baricza could be between them.

"So, what do you want?" BJ asked her as he skimmed the menu.

"Anything." Jem answered smiling, making BJ laugh.

"Alright." BJ agreed with a wink. "You know you sure are easy to please; it would sure any feller proud to marry you."

Jem blushed prettily. "Thanks, I think." She replied as the waitress walked over.

"What can I get for y'all?" She asked them, sounding bored.

"Two cups of coffee and two orange sodas." BJ ordered for the group.

"Coming right up." The waitress replied writing down the order on her menu pad. She walked away as two guys came through the door.

"Hey Slim, hey Ham." She said as she saw her two regular customers through the door, knowing that right now her boring morning was just about to get a little more exciting with the trouble those two were known to cause. They ignored her as they had spotted a table containing two monkeys a gorgeous woman that had caught their interest.

"Hey man, look. Ain't she purty?" The one called Slim said to his friend.

"Yeah, I'd say," Ham agreed. "Come on." He said as he headed over to the table.

"Hey there, little lady." Slim greeted Jem with a hungry look in his eyes.

"Hi." Jem replied, gritting her teeth slightly as these two brutes openly stared at her. "Can I help you?" She asked them.

"Yeah." They replied in unison. "Will you follow us?" Ham asked her offering his hand to her.

"Where to?" Jem looked at his hand, but didn't take it.

"Out to our truck." Slim replied evenly.

"I'm good right where I am." She told the men firmly staying seated. She could tell it was taking every ounce of strength BJ had not to show these men some manners.

"Come on honey." Ham coaxed her, taking her arm in his hand.

BJ could not tolerate another second of this. "She ain't your honey!" He said to the men, working his jaw.

"Oh, is she your honey?" Slim taunted him, leaning over the table.

"A lot closer than you'll ever be." BJ told the man staring him in the eyes, never blinking.

"Oh, yeah?" Ham asked, glaring at BJ. "What does the lady say?"

"The 'lady' says I ain't goin' nowhere with you guys." Jem interjected, jerking her arm out of Ham's hand.

"Oh yeah, you are." Slim told her, grabbing her arm and manhandling her out the seat, he tried to steal a kiss. He hadn't even noticed that BJ had already stood and had made his way around the table to them. BJ had Slim's fingers off Jem before he knew what hit him and now stood between them, protecting Jem, even though she could defend herself with the use of martial arts.

"Leave her alone!" He ordered the men forcefully.

"Make me." Slim taunted and swung an uppercut to BJ's jaw. BJ staggered and fell, but came right back with a hard punch to Slim's stomach that knocked him down. Pretty soon the two were duking it out right there in the diner.

"Come on guys." Jem hollered over the noise. She tried to pull the two apart, but Slim shoved her away and Ham intercepted her, holding onto her.

"I got her Slim, I got her!" He yelled at his friend excitedly.

"That's what you think." Jem muttered and used his weight to flip him over her shoulder. Just then the town sheriff walked in, saw what was going on and shot his glock at the ceiling.

"What in Sam Hill is going on around here?" He asked the shocked men on the floor.

"That curly haired fellow attacked Slim." Ham happily tattled.

"That true, Slim?" The sheriff asked the troublemaker.

"Yeah, what he said." Slim said haughtily, standing and sneering at BJ.

"Alright, Curly. Stand up." The sheriff commanded, grabbing hold of BJ's arm. "I said stand up." He repeated when BJ failed to move.

"You've got to be kidding me." BJ said standing ready to defend himself, when he noticed Jem pointing to herself, Bear, Baricza and back to the sheriff trying to tell him that they would follow. BJ nodded slightly back to her, letting her know that he got her message. He turned and allowed the sheriff to put the cuffs, quietly allowing him put him in the squad car.

"Come on you two." Jem told the chimps, standing. She let Baricza climb on her back and picked Bear up and placed him on her hip. She wasn't counting on Slim standing in her way.

"Come on baby." Slim said seductively. "You ain't gonna follow him are you?"

"Yeah, I am." Jem said facing him with a menacing look on her face. "He's my date. Now if you'll get out the way." She told him, shoving past anyway and heading for the truck. She let the chimps climb in first and pulled herself up, digging through the duffel bag for some sort of disguise to bust BJ out of jail.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.<strong>


	7. Jail Break

**For those that do not already know, the way that I wrote the character that I made up Jemima, I made her be kind of a tough girl, she doesn't like to be touched, and she has a stubborn streak in her which as she gets older it begins to disappear. She took karate during the early 70s (before she started being a trucker)and is a black belt in it. Jemima's father and grandfather were both truckers and she is the only one of the Evigan family children to follow in her father's footsteps (her four older brothers all went into different fields).**

**In other words I wrote Jem to be like me.**

* * *

><p>At the county jail a little while later, Jem climbed out of the red Kenworth wearing a little bit of makeup, a white 60's style mini dress, high heels, and her shaggy, shoulder length hair pulled back as best as she could. She set off toward the doors with a determined look on her face.<p>

Meanwhile, inside the jail, the sheriff was looking at BJ's driver's license. "So you're BJ McKay?" He asked him, giving him a once over. "I've heard a lot about you, boy."

"All good I hope." BJ said with a grin on his face.

"It would seem that you have quite a reputation for trouble." The sheriff said, coming around the desk to lean against it, staring down at BJ in a chair. "Particularly with a Sheriff Lobo from Orly, Georgia. And Captain Grant from up in L.A." He added.

"Yeah, what can I say. I'm well loved by everyone." BJ replied sarcastically.

"Alright, come with me." The sheriff roughly grabbed his arm and hauled him up, walking BJ over to the holding cell that was off to the side. BJ walked in and turned around to watch the sheriff shut and lock the door. He was mighty happy to see Jem come through the doors while the sheriff got settled back in at his desk.

"Well, now. What can I do for you miss." The sheriff asked nicely, standing back up when he saw Jemima.

"There's a kid stuck in a tree at the park." She said, trying to sound slightly out of breath.

"That's awful." The sheriff told her, motioning her to sit down on the chair that BJ had previously occupied. "I better go get the kid out. Miss, stay here. I might need you for a witness. Oh, and stay away from the guy in the holding cell, he's a known criminal." He added, hustling himself out the door. As soon as the sheriff left, Jemima made sure he was gone and headed for BJ's cell.

"So, how you holding up 'known criminal'?" She raised her eyebrows at him teasingly, chuckling.

"Very funny." BJ said, coming over to hold onto the bars. "What are you going to do?" He asked hopefully.

"Get you out of here for one thing." Jem told him, crossing her arms.

"How? The sheriff took the keys with him." BJ replied leaning against the bars.

"Well, there's nothing that a good bobby pin won't help. Or in this case unlock." She told him back as she pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and unlocked the cell door easily. BJ kissed her on the forehead as soon as the door clanged open.

"Thanks, Love." He said to her as he hugged her. "Let's get out of here before he gets back."

"It might take a little longer than just a few minutes." She said slyly.

"What do you mean?" BJ asked, confused as she smiled up at him. She only smiled and pointed across the street at the park where a young boy and now the sheriff were up in a tree with three dogs barking at the bottom. BJ laughed at the scene.

"That was a great idea, Jem. But how did you get the boy and dogs there?" He asked her, putting his arm around her.

She grinned, replying, "Oh, I saw the boy up the tree on my way over here and the dogs were just sitting under it, waiting for the their master to come down. So I asked him to help and trust, me that boy was more than happy to help."

He smiled down at her and gave her a hug. "Come on." He took her hand and led her over to where she had parked the truck.

"So where'd you learn to pick open a jail cell with a bobby pin?" He asked, glancing over at her after they were back on the road.

"My brother." She said eyeing the side door mirror, making sure no one was following.

"Which one?" BJ wondered aloud.

"Bo." She replied and looked over as he started to laugh. She smiled herself since it was a little funny that her brother, the police officer, had taught her. "Frank taught me how to play the guitar and Danny taught me how to work on cars." She responded, speaking of her musician and mechanic brothers.

"What about Calvin?" BJ inquired as he got on the highway to head toward the county line.

"Does helping me get through middle and high school math count?" They both started laughing as Calvin is a lawyer.

"Yeah, I guess it does." BJ answered. "So where did the dress come from?" He raised his eyebrow and glanced over, giving her an admiring look.

"Why?" Jem asked him, sobering and trying to look fierce.

"I guess its 'cause I don't think that I've ever seen you wear a mini dress before." He answered, shrugging.

"Well, I guess I'd better change back into my normal clothes." She said grabbing for her duffel bag.

"Why?" BJ asked, stopping her with a gentle hand. "I like what you have on."

"Gee Beej." Jem said dryly, rolling her eyes. "Somehow ridin' in a rig and in a mini skirt just don't go together." She finished.

"Yeah, maybe." BJ teased. "But I still like it."

"Yeah, well, I'm still going to change when we stop again." She replied firmly, digging through her bag.

"It might be awhile." BJ told her, looking over at her. "Why don't you just change in the back?" Jem raised her left eyebrow at him and waited til he looked back over again.

BJ saw her look and realized what she was thinking. "Hey, I won't look." He said defensively.

"You sure it's okay?" She wondered shyly.

"Yeah go ahead." He said and then ordered the chimps. "Bear, Baricza, get up here." The chimps climbed into the front as Jem climbed into the sleeper.

"You promise not to look?" She asked, peering over his shoulder at him.

"I think we've already covered that." He insisted glancing at her. "Besides I'm driving an 18-wheeler. I can promise you I ain't going to look." Jemima ducked back in and pulled the curtain closed, making sure there weren't any open spots before changing back into her clothes. "That's a girl for ya," he muttered to the bears, "always has to make triple sure before they do anything."

"I heard that." Jem hollered out at him.

Back at Bear Enterprises, Gerri is still trying to raise BJ on the radio, to no avail. "I still can't get him." She said desperately to the girls.

"Well keep trying." Terri encouraged her sister.

"He might have his CB off." Stacy suggested.

"Why would he have it off?" Terri asked her, wrinkling her forehead.

"Well, let's see he is with a girl." Stacy teased her friend good naturedly.

Terri ignored her friend. "See if you can get a hold of anyone that might have seen BJ." She suggested to Gerri.

"Alright." Gerri agreed, looking for the name of the company where BJ and Jem were supposed to pick up their load.

In the meantime, Jem had finished changing back into her jeans, tank top and crimson button down shirt and was climbing back into her seat. She rubbed the chimps' heads affectionately who now sat beside her.

"That was fast." BJ was a little in awe.

"Yeah. Learned from experience not to take a lot of time to get ready." Jem agreed reaching over the chimps to rub his shoulder.

"Was that 'cause you had a lot of brothers or 'cause there was only one bathroom in your parents' house?" He asked, sighing a little with relief now that they had passed the county line.

"A little bit of both." She said, making them both laugh.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.<strong>


End file.
